2018’s Best & Worst Cities for Texas Families

Jun 20, 2018 | Adam McCann, Financial Writer

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Texas is one of the largest states in the country, both in terms of square mileage and population, which should be no surprise considering everything is supposed to be bigger there. That’s certainly true as far as the steaks, cowboy hats and football stadiums are concerned. But what about the homes, school systems, salaries and all of the other important factors that truly make life larger in a given place?

As a whole, Texas is an economically strong state. It has the second largest state economy in the U.S., behind only California. And its unemployment rate of 4.1% is only a bit higher than the national average of 3.8%.

But living in Texas isn’t all about the money. There’s plenty of attractions to make the state a great place for families, like the Houston Space Center, Big Bend National Park and the Alamo.

In order to help Lone Star residents and those interested in joining the herd settle down in the right spot, WalletHub compared the 117 of the largest cities in Texas based on 21 relevant metrics that speak to their suitability for families of all types. This includes measures such as the number of playgrounds per capita, the violent crime rate and the divorce rate. Below, you can find the results as well as a detailed methodology and a Q&A with a panel of leading experts.

Methodology

To help identify the most family-friendly cities in Texas, WalletHub compared the state’s 117 largest cities in four categories: 1) Family Life & Fun, 2) Education, Health & Safety, 3) Affordability and 4) Socioeconomic Environment.

We did so using 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was scored from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for families. We then used the weighted average of these individual-metric scores to calculate an overall score for each city, with which the cities were ultimately ranked.

Please note that “city” refers to city proper and excludes surrounding metro areas. Other cities were excluded from the sample due to limited data availability.

Family Life & Fun – Total Points: 25

Number of Playgrounds per 100,000 Residents: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)

Share of Uninsured Children (newborn to age 18): Full Weight (~2.94 Points)

Violent-Crime Rate per 1,000 Residents: Double Weight (~5.88 Points)

Property-Crime Rate per 1,000 Residents: Double Weight (~5.88 Points)

Affordability – Total Points: 25

Housing Affordability: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)Note: This metric measures the median annual family income divided by housing costs. It accounts for both rent and house prices.

General Affordability: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)Note: This metric measures the median family annual income divided by the cost of living index.

Socioeconomic Environment – Total Points: 25

Separation & Divorce Rate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Share of Two-Parent Families: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Share of Families Below Poverty Line: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Share of Households Receiving Food Stamps: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Wealth Gap: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

Sources: Data used to create these rankings were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, SchoolDigger.com, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, County Health Rankings, Yelp, Areavibes, TripAdvisor, Renwood RealtyTrac and WalletHub research.

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Community Discussion

I've been out of the Army 4 years, two of them I moved to Beaumont Texas in 2016. As a photographer, I find Beaumont and Port Arthur some of the friendliest towns. The VA outpatient center is one of the greatest. Any town has crime, drugs, and legal problems. Not every town is going to have a pretty picture. The people here actually say hello and really friendly. It\'s a town on industry and hard-working families. The people that make these polls are the ones, who are the ones that need to experience these towns for themselves.